That was unexpected
by Raysire
Summary: Set immediately after "World War Three". The Doctor has made a decision. Rose does not agree.


"_I could save the world, but lose you"._

Rose was thinking about the Doctor's words, playing them endlessly in her head, trying to dissect every hidden meaning. She had seen his face while he said those words, she had seen the despair in his eyes and the way his face had fallen, she had heard his voice tremble on the last word. He wasn't his usual bouncy, grinning self. He was a broken man, someone who was faced with something too big to handle.

She had smiled at him, and that shadow had abandoned his face. "Do it". Back to himself, the Doctor had grinned and proceeded to save the world. Again. Everything had turned out fine.

So why was he so silent, now? Why was his face so dark, why had his eyes lost their manic glint?

Rose looked at the Doctor as he pulled levers and pressed buttons, flying the TARDIS to their next destination. Moving on, never looking back. Yet his back was straight, his shoulders stiff, his hands pressed the buttons with too much energy. She could tell something was wrong.

"_I could save the world but lose you." _The words were haunting her. She couldn't stand sitting there in the Control Room, looking at his back, without saying anything. She couldn't stand the silence.

"Where we going, then?" She asked, trying to give her voice a cheerful tone.

He didn't answer. She was about to ask again, wondering if he had heard her, when the TARDIS landed with a familiar _thump_.

The Doctor, still silent, still serious, gestured to the door. Rose went to open it, and her heart fell.

"No. You're not doing this."

"Yes I am." His voice was cold, his face serious.

"No way. Why?" She was starting to panic, refusing to believe. She must be wrong. There must be a reason if the Doctor had landed the TARDIS in… her living-room.

"I've taken you home."

Her heart sank. He couldn't be doing this. He had given her the key to the TARDIS just a few hours ago, that had to mean something. She looked into his eyes and, for the first time since they travelled together, she could see nothing she recognized there. This wasn't _her_ Doctor.

She was furious.

"I'm not letting you. I'm not going."

"I don't think you have a choice."

"You can't just dump me!"

"Yes I can. This is it. Just…go. Please."

His voice broke on the last word. She looked at him and saw the same desperate face he had that afternoon. His eyes were wide, his lips white. He was pale, his hands shaking.

"Just tell me why! I'm not going, I don't want to, but just give me a good reason why I should. Give me a good reason why I should leave you and go back to my old life." She was angry now, but she was also starting to feel her own voice tremble. This made her even more furious. _Don't cry, Rose, dammit. Don't you dare crying._

"Did I do something wrong?" She couldn't help it, the words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. She hated herself for this. The last thing she wanted, was to start acting like a little kid.

"No, not you. I did. I betrayed you and your mother. I had promised you both that you'd be safe with me, and look what happened today. What could have happened."

"Nothing happened today! We saved London, we saved the world, what the hell are you talking about?"

She was shouting now. The Doctor didn't reply. He turned his back on her and went back to the console. He sat down on the jumpseat, took his head in his hands.

"Talk to me! Look at me, dammit! Tell me something, tell me what's going on in that head of yours!"

He slowly looked up at her. She closed the TARDIS doors and went to sit beside him.

"I…just can't, ok? I can't stand this. I can't stand the idea that someday, soon, I'll do something wrong and you could…" He took his head in his hands again.

"What?"

"You could be hurt, or die. And it would be my fault. I have seen so much death, Rose. And all of it was my fault. My friends, my family. My whole planet. All my fault. I can't let it happen again. Not to you. Not to the woman I…" His voice was fading, she could barely hear the last sentence. She thought perhaps she had imagined it.

"It's not going to happen."

He stood up, suddenly furious, fists clenched at his sides.

"How do you know? How can you be so sure? I have nightmares Rose, nightmares in which I stand over your dead body, in which I _cry_ over your dead body. I can't let it happen. I can't take a chance. You're going home."

"Doctor…"

Her voice was gentle, all anger gone. She stood up too, walked to his side. She put a hand on his shoulder and gently forced him to turn around, to face her.

"Doctor, please, look at me. I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way. If I had known…"

"What, Rose? You wouldn't have let me try to kill you?"

"Don't say that. You never tried to kill me. You saved my life, lots of times"

"Yeah, from dangers I had put you in in the first place! Quite the hero, huh?"

She was lost for words at his remark. She did not know how to say that yes, indeed he was a hero, _her_ hero, without sounding pathetic and childish and fake.

He was staring at her now, looking intently into her eyes.

"You're not going, are you?

"Of course not."

"But why? Why would you want to stay here, with me? Are you not scared?"

"Not when I'm with you."

"You're so human. So ready to trust, so reckless, and you don't even know it, because it's your nature."

"Yep, sorry I'm a stupid ape."

"You're not." He smiled. "On your own head. Press that button" He gestured towards a button that was glowing green on the TARDIS console.

"What's it do?"

"Takes us away from here. You're not going home, might as well be the one that flies us away."

Rose pressed the button and heard the engines take life, heard the familiar whooshing sound as the TARDIS vanished from her house and entered the Time Vortex.

The Doctor was still standing beside the console, silent and still.

She walked to the jumpseat, sat down, and gestured him to do the same.

"Come here. Sit with me, will you?" She was starting to relax now, the threat of being stranded on Earth gone, but she could see something was bugging him. He slowly walked to the seat and sat down next to her, yet distant, their bodies not touching. She thought this was weird, the Doctor wasn't one to respect personal space, with all the hugging and jumping around. She moved closer to him and could see his body tense.

"What's up now?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

Silence. He turned his head and looked at her. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it again.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"What were you saying before? The woman you…what?" She hated herself for asking that before she had even finished the question.

"I think you know."

And with these words, he leaned closer to her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. His right hand cupped around her cheek, the left one was gently stroking her hair. She couldn't believe this was happening. She closed her eyes with a soft sigh and returned the kiss. Then, she looked up at him and smiled. A genuine, Rose Tyler Brand smile, all pink cheeks and tongue in teeth.

"Rose." His voice was low, his eyes dark, but not with anger or fear, this time. She felt her insides squirm under his gaze. Her eyes were locked into his , she couldn't have looked away even if she wanted to. Her heart was racing.

"Rose" he said again, before leaning down to kiss her one more time, more fiercely now, his tongue dancing around hers, his hands trailing along her body. She locked her arms around his body and pulled him even closer, and felt him shiver when her hands reached under his leather jacket and grasped his back.

"This is wrong. This should not happen." He had pulled away from her, and his face was full of desire, anger, and fear.

"Please, don't. For once, don't think. Let the world turn without you."

"I can't."

"Yes, of course you can."

With these words, she stood up, and offered him her hand. He took it, and stood up, facing her. She put her hands on his shoulders and let the familiar leather jacket slide to the ground. He was shaking now, his breathing was fast and his pupils were so dilated that his eyes were black. She reached on tiptoes and kissed him, holding him tight as to not let him run away from her.

Everything happened so fast, after this, that her head was spinning. The Doctor took her in his arms and lifted her, as if she were a little child. Without interrupting the kiss, he carried her down a corridor, then another, and Rose wondered how he could know where he was going, as he never once opened his eyes or stopped kissing her. She was starting to feel dizzy for the lack of air when they reached a door. The Doctor kicked it in, ad carried her to a bed, where he laid her gently on the sheets, before pulling away from the kiss and laying by her side. He didn't give her time to breathe, though. Suddenly he was kissing her again, his hands trailing on her body, drawing paths from her neck to her chest, and further down, while she shivered and moved under the touch of his long, strong fingers.

The Doctor gently stripped her of her hoodie and top, leaving her with only her bra and jeans on, and kept caressing her, while he slid his own jumper over his head and let it fall to the ground.

She touched his chest and felt his two hearts racing under her hands.

"You're cold."

"Yeah. Time Lord. Some degrees colder than a human. Does it…freak you out?"

"No. I love it."

At her reply, he smiled a huge smile and leaned down as if to kiss her again, but this time he bit her neck. A slight gasp escaped her lips, and she grasped his back, scratching it with her short nails. This seemed to set him on fire. His breath became fast and shallow, and suddenly Rose felt his hands everywhere. She closed her eyes and let him touch her, she let him explore every corner of her body, bite her neck, and finally cup his hands on her breasts. By this time, she was moaning and moving underneath him, desperate for more, more skin touching hers, more of him.

She arched her back slightly to allow him to undo her bra an slide it over her arms, and watched while he leaned down to suckle on her nipples, one and then the other, his tongue dancing and sending waves of pleasure down her body. His mouth moved further down, his tongue tracing winding, cold paths along her belly. She felt his hands juggle with the buttons of her jeans and arched her back again to let him take them off. He bit her inner thigh, gently, his breath tickling her. She had to bite her lips not to scream out loud, she wanted him so much it was almost painful.

And suddenly, he was gone. She opened her eyes and saw him standing beside the bed. He had moved so fast she hadn't even noticed.

"Let me look at you."

She smiled, shy and self-conscious under his intense gaze. She could hear him breathing through his slightly open mouth, she could see his tongue dancing on his teeth. His eyes were dark and blue, and she thought she had never seen something so… _magnificent_, that was the word, in her life. She sighed and looked away.

"You're beautiful."

"…considering that I'm human?" she teased.

"Nope. You're beautiful."

He undid his belt and lowered his black jeans. He kicked them away and there he was, upright again, in only his black boxers, looking at her. She could see his erection under the thin cotton, she could see it throbbing, and the mere sight sent flames down her spine. He took two steps towards her and laid down on top of her, again biting her neck and collarbones, while his right hand reached under her thong and found the centre of her body. She let out a small scream when his fingers slid gently inside her and started moving slowly, drawing small circles around her clit and sliding inside again. Every inch of her body screamed for him, she craved more, but she knew better than to say it, she knew the Doctor enough by now to know he liked being in control. She let him play with her until it was unbearable, until her back ached for the tension and she felt herself slowly sliding over the edge.

"Please…"

He stopped and looked at her.

"Say that again."

"Please. Please, I want you so badly. Please."

The Doctor took his hand away, and she was a bit disappointed, she thought maybe she had screwed up, then she felt his hand rip her thong away. He threw it across the room and sat on his feet, between her legs. She looked as he slid one hand under his own boxers and lowered them, she looked as he took his cock in his hand and started moving it slowly, eyes closed.

"Say that again."

She didn't think she could speak, her throat was dry and her lips trembled, but she managed one last, hoarse "Please".

She saw him lean down, as if to kiss her again, dick still in his hand, and suddenly he was inside her, moving slowly, teasing her with his hands on her nipples, digging deeper and deeper with every thrust. His body was hot now, his breath tickled her neck while he moved over her. He put both his hands on the pillow beside her head and heaved himself up, locking his eyes into hers while he started moving faster .

Rose, legs clenched around his waist, moved under him, meeting him at the end of each thrust, scratching his back. She knew she was close to coming, and tried to tell him, but words failed her. She opened her mouth, but all she managed was a long scream while the world dissolved around her for a second. This seemed to drive him over the edge, and with a final, powerful push, he came inside her, catching his breath, before collapsing on her.

He was the one to break the silence.

"That was unexpected" He was smiling and tracing her jawline with a finger.

"Yeah, who could tell. One second you're trying to dump me, and suddenly you're…"

"I'm what?"

"Making love to me."

He kissed her, a long, gentle kiss, so different from the desire-ridden kisses they had exchanged before.

"Glad you said that."

"Said what?"

"You know."

And he was smiling, all anger and fear gone from his eyes. He was The Doctor again, _her_ Doctor, with that happy and slightly manic grin on his face. She reached up and drew a hand across his short dark hair, and before she could stop herself, she said, "I love you."

At the same moment, almost drowning her words, an alarm rang in the TARDIS control room. The Doctor gave her a last, quick kiss and jumped on his feet.

"What's that?"

"A distress signal. Something's reaching for help."

He ran, still naked, to the control room. Rose followed him, a sheet draped around her.

"You could put something on, you know? Not that I mind." she added, watching him stand in front of a screen.

"So, where we going?"

"Looks like we're in for a trip to Utah."

He turned around and smiled at her, gave her one last kiss and went back to his room, while the TARDIS engines chanted their ancient song, signaling that they were landing.

©Raysire 30/10/12


End file.
